Law and Literature

Catalog description

This course offers a real-time understanding of significant legal issues that undergraduates, including those who might be considering careers in law, need to know about. Even those not specifically interested in law will benefit from the medium we use, which is that of imaginative fiction. Scenes from stories (and some films and popular culture media) that deal with law provoke our discussions, including well known trial scenes (MERCHANT OF VENICE [Shakespeare], BILLY BUDD SAILOR [Melville]), portraits of men and women in the profession of law (GREAT EXPECTATIONS [Dickens], THE FALL [Camus], "A Jury of Her Peers" [Glaspell]; and narratives that show how the rhetoric of law sometimes fails to grasp the problems of less powerful communities (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD [Lee]; THE FIXER [Malamud]. Students will want to read these and other stories, and to screen films and TV shows about law, with some care, so the course always links the skill of reading well with the policies of a sound approach to the institutions of power. There is no final exam, but there will be a final paper of the student's choosing as discussed with the instructor, and other shorter responsibilities during the semester. The instructor will work closely on each student's writing skills as the semester proceeds. Richard Weisberg has taught both law and English Literature for many years, has practiced law in New York and in federal court, has been an appointee of Pres. Obama, and has been awarded the French Legion of Honor for his work on behalf of the human rights of World War II victims of French racial and religious laws.